Don't Be Scared
by SSEE729
Summary: Daryl comes across a young woman and her siblings who are in desperate need of help. After saving them from walkers, he brings them back to Herschel's farm so they can get the care they need. Something about this woman touches Daryl deeply, and he doesn't really know how to deal with it. Will he overcome the only way of life he was taught, and learn to embrace his feelings? OC


_**Hey guys, I really like The Walking Dead, I've written fanfics before, but none for this show. But, I thought I'd give it a try. I love Daryl, he is one of my favorite characters, and I like the whole mysterious, kind, sympathetic side about him that comes out only rarely. I love that side of him! This fic will focus a little bit more on that, as well as introduce some new characters to the group. This is the first time I'm writing with an OC, so please let me know what you think! I don't own The Walking Dead or any of the characters from the show.**_

It was dark. That was never a good sign. Back a mere few months ago, it was no problem. A little frightening sometimes, maybe, but there was nothing wrong with going for a night stroll and star gazing. But now, the dark was dangerous. It was a warning sign. And, it was a threat. A threat to life itself.

Daryl looked up at the sky, grateful that it was at least partially lit by the stars and by the the moon that would be full in a few nights. But, he was scared of how quickly it was becoming yet darker and darker. More scared then he cared to mention aloud. Or, even to himself for that matter.

He adjusted the crossbow on his back, touching it slightly, maybe just out of habit. Just to feel it. Just to know it was there. He looked to the sky again, and then around the darkening woods. _Shit._ They had gone out hunting, trying to get some food before dark, and had not taken into account how quickly the sun would go down.

"It's getting dark" Andrea called from a few feet away.

Daryl rolled his eyes. "No shit_"_

"Don't give me that, Daryl." Andrea snarled back at him. She walked closer to him, her voice becoming almost as loud as it was snappy. "I'm really getting sick of your att-"

"Shut up" Daryl said quickly, gesturing with his hands as well. It was already dark. They didn't need to be adding noise to the mix. He gave her a look, gestured with his hand, saying "none of that", and turned to survey the area.

She quickly obeyed; apparently figuring surviving was more important that picking an argument, and followed the gesture he made for her to follow him. He walked softly, but quickly, making his way between trees, shrubs, and fallen branches. He looked from side to side slowly, making sure their path was clear, and then continued. Andrea was right behind him, close enough to grab onto the back of his shirt. She was scared. And, she wasn't afraid to let him know it.

A branch snapped, and they both turned quickly to find where the noise had come from. Andrea had instinctively snatched the back of Daryl's shirt, and he felt her tug. It startled him at first, and he sighed out annoyed. But, he was focused on determining where the noise had come from.

"Come on" Daryl said, after looking around for several seconds and failing to notice anything unusual. "Let's go"

Andrea nodded, too frightened to speak, and followed behind Daryl. But, it took her a few more seconds to let go of his shirt. Daryl continued to look around. _Something_ had made a noise. And, whatever it was, it was still out there.

"You think it was a walker?! There hasn't been any so far, but-"

"Shhh!" Daryl said again, giving her another look. His eyes spoke for him, and she completely understood. This had happened enough throughout the group for each of them to master the art of communicating with their eyes. A crucial skill to surviving in this kind of world. She nodded quickly and followed him closely as he started moving again.

They were almost to the edge of the forest, almost back, when they heard it. It was a scream. A loud, terrified scream. A _human_ scream. Daryl whipped around quickly, grabbing his crossbow off his back in one swift motion, and starting toward the noise. It was distant. Not too far. But definitely close enough.

"You think that's a good idea?" Andrea asked quickly, the fright overwhelming her voice. Shaky, breaking, almost inaudible.

Again, Daryl looked at her. It was quick, he didn't have time to waste, but he got his point across. There was someone out there. Someone. A _person_.

Andrea understood him, but apparently she didn't agree with his logic. "All our people are at the base" She said, urging him to turn around, but he was already ten yards away, running toward the source of the noise. Andrea watched him go. She knew she should go after him, go with him. He might need help, he might get into trouble. But she couldn't. Or wouldn't. She didn't know. She froze.

Daryl, however, was running as fast as the uneven and treacherous ground would allow, jumping over fallen branches, and jolting off of logs. The branches scratched his arms, face, and legs as he ran by, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. There was someone out there. No, they weren't from their group. But it was someone. Another human. There weren't very many of those left. And they needed help.

He heard the scream again. He was getting closer. He was almost there. They screamed again. And again. And again. He was getting closer and closer, his crossbow steady, and then, he saw what had warranted the scream.

Walkers. Three of them. Moving fast, quickly, and directly. Directly toward a young woman. Daryl raised his crossbow immediately, and shot the walker closest to the woman in the head. It fell instantly, and the woman gasped, falling back herself, and dragging herself backward, trying to get away. She looked around quickly, stunned by the shot, and made eye contact with Daryl. _Her _eyes spoke loud too.

Daryl, momentarily paralyzed by the desperation within this young woman's eyes, took a fraction of a second to raise his crossbow to the next walker. He shot that one too, and as it fell, he shot the third. He looked around quickly; assuring the walkers had no more company, and then made his way toward the girl.

She was gasping loudly, unable to catch her breath, and tears soaked her face. She still sat on the ground, and she brought her knees up to her chest, clutching them to her tightly. Her gaze was fixed on the walker lying no more than two feet away from her on the ground. Arm outstretched, attempting to grab her, scratch her, grasp her. Breathing heavily, she pushed herself backward more, kicking her legs, and trying to move as quickly backward, away from it, as she could.

Daryl made his way toward her. "It's alright, its dead" Daryl said quickly, watching the girl as she frantically attempted to get away. "It's dead"

The girl looked to him quickly, fear expelling from her eyes, and quickly wiped her hand across her dirt covered face. She didn't look away from him. She was still breathing heavy, her chest heaving, and her gasps were loud. She was still crying too, the tears were streaming down her face.

"What the hell were ya doing out 'ere?!" Daryl asked quickly, and perhaps more harshly than he had meant. No, that wasn't true. That's just how he spoke. She just wasn't used to it.

She whimpered slightly and flinched back from him. He rolled his eyes, realizing he may have sounded abrasive, and walked to her slowly. He crouched down next to her. "It's dead, you're fine. Don't be scared." Don't be scared. _Good advice. Just how exactly was that possible?_

The girl continued to look at him with her big, sad, frightened eyes, and although he found them incredibly sad to look into, he didn't want to look away. Something about them was just so, well, he didn't really know. And, that scared him. So, he quickly looked to the ground.

"My, my, sis-sister" The girl gasped out, still breathing extremely heavy. She was still unable to catch her breath, taking deep breaths in and out, but they were quick, and panicked, and her voice shook with her fright.

Daryl looked around quickly, standing up. He didn't see anyone. He looked back at the girl, looked into her sad and desperate, pleading eyes, and then quickly looked behind her. That's where he saw it.

At first it looked like a pile of branches, leaves, and other various items. But, then, as he got closer, he realized it was a shelter. He sighed out softly. This young woman had been living in a shelter made of tree branches. He looked back to her, and saw those eyes again. They refused to look away from him, but he so desperately wished they would.

"I was protecting her. Tried to distract them. Draw them aw-away. Got cau-caught up." The girl grabbed her chest, her breathing raspy and quick.

Daryl looked from the woman back to the shelter. He crouched down, moved some branches aside, and saw a little girl, no more than four or five, sleeping quietly. He looked at her for a few seconds, simply taking in the sleeping form of the little girl, and the beauty of her. But, then he quickly looked away. He looked back to the woman, but his eyes made contact with hers, and not knowing where to look, he dropped his eyes to the ground.

He stood up slowly, and walked back toward the woman, still sitting on the ground. "How long you've been out here?"

The girl's chest was moving up and down rapidly, adrenaline still pumping. She gasped a few times before catching enough breath to manage to speak. "We-week about"

"Just the two 'a ya?" Daryl asked. He crouched beside the young woman. He knew she was scared. He knew she was frightened. He knew she need to be comforted, to be assured that everything was going to be alright. But the thing was, he had never been good at that part. The comforting part. He wasn't exactly sure what to do. Never was. Maybe it came naturally to some people, and maybe it would have with him too if he had grown up differently. But he didn't. And so, he was awkward. Tough. Abrasive. Daryl looked at her for only a second before quickly focusing on his crossbow.

"No, no. That's wh-why I did-didn't know what to do, U-usually my br-brother's here t-too. He's hunt-hunting" The woman gasped. And, it didn't seem to Daryl that she was making any progress on catching her breath. It actually seemed like she was getting worse.

_Hunting?_ That brought a little smile to Daryl's face before he looked back at the girl. "Okay, well, you're safe now. Jus' relax, 'right? Your sister's fine. I'm sure your brother will be back soon"

The girl looked into his eyes again, but this time he didn't look away. They were green. Such a beautiful green. There was a gold ring around her iris, and gold flecks throughout. He had never seen eyes like that before. He had never seen something so beautiful. Not in a long time.

"Thank you" She uttered softly, she continued to look at him. She offered a small smile, but soon her eyes were closing. Here breathing was slowing, and she fell backward, lying down on the ground.

Daryl dropped down quickly. _Shit. Shit. Shit._ He placed a hand under her head, and his other on her neck. She had a pulse. She was alive. He sighed out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding._ It must have been the breathing._ He thought. She seemed to be having a panic attack. She must have just passed out. He was sure she'd be fine.

He glanced over toward the makeshift shelter a few feet away, and there was not a sign of anything stirring. The little girl must still have been sleeping. He started to place his hand underneath the woman's back. He'd take her back to the base. Both of them. But what about the brother-

"Hey! Hey!" Daryl heard from behind him. He whipped around quickly. Placing the girl back on the ground. A man was running toward him. He couldn't have been more than twenty.

The man ran toward him, and Daryl looked at him. This must be him. They looked similar.

"What'd you do!" The man said. "What'd you do, you son of a bitch?!" He yelled at him.

"Hey, shut the hell up!" Daryl said quickly. "You want more walkers?" He snapped back.

"What'd you do to my sister? Huh? Get away from her!" The man said, shoving Daryl in the chest. Daryl grabbed the collar of his shirt quickly with both hands, and shoved the man to the ground forcefully.

"Get yer hands off me" Daryl said, glaring at the man from where he laid on the ground. He tried to get up quickly, but Daryl placed his foot over his throat.

"Listen to me" Daryl said forcefully, but quietly. "I didn't do nothin' to yer sister. I heard her yell, came runnin', there were walkers. Three. I shot them. That's it" Daryl gestured to the three walkers lying on the ground a few feet away. "She got scared. Passed out." Daryl said bitterly. He continued to glare at the kid on the ground. He was starting to get feisty, but realized Daryl must be telling the truth when he looked over and saw the walkers lying there.

The kid struggled under Daryl's foot for a few seconds, before shoving it away, and Daryl quickly put it down. The kid jumped up. Glared at Daryl, and then ran to his sister.

"Emma" The kid said as he shook her, "Emma". Daryl watched, and the kid looked toward him again. He stood up and looked toward the makeshift shelter.

"She's fine" Daryl said quickly. "I checked."

The kid looked at him in confusion and then went to check the shelter himself. He looked back at Daryl, and then made his way toward his sister again. He tried to shake her, but she wouldn't wake up.

"What's wrong with her? Why won't she wake up?" The kid asked frantically. He looked to Daryl now with different eyes. Not ones full of fight and disgust, but instead ones that pleaded with desperation.

"I told 'ya" Daryl snapped. "She passed out."

The kid tried to shake her again. "Emma, Emma, please wake up, please" Daryl could tell he was getting nervous too. Frightened, scared. Hell, this was one of the only people he had. Daryl knew how that felt.

"She'll be fine." Daryl growled, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do. What he did know was that he had to get them out of the woods, and fast. The kid looked at him quickly, and then rubbed a hand across his face.

"I've got more people with me. We've got a base. It's safe there. I'll take you. C'mon." Daryl said quickly. He knew that it may not be a good idea. But, he also knew he couldn't leave these people out here. Alone. In the dark. With walkers. No, he couldn't just leave them. He sighed. He was starting to think more and more like Rick. And, he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

The kid looked reluctant to come. He continued to shake his sister, but she wouldn't wake up. He looked from the shelter back toward his sister, and then to Daryl, back to his sister.

"There's a doctor there" Daryl said quickly, and the kid jerked his head toward him.

"Really?" The kid asked, his eyes wide.

"No, I lied." Daryl said bitterly sarcastic. "You comin' or not?"

"Yea, yes, yea. Thank you. Thank you, thank you!" The kid said excitedly.

"Keep it down!" Daryl said harshly. "Get the little one. I'll take her" Daryl said gesturing toward the young woman on the ground. The kid nodded quickly and made his way to the shelter. He tore it open quickly, brushing aside branches and leaves, not worried about having to maintain it. The little girl barely stirred, and he picked her up quickly.

Daryl bent down, slung his crossbow across his back, and slipped a hand underneath the young woman's back. He placed his other hand behind her head, and lifted her up from the ground. He held the young woman and turned around to see the kid holding the little girl.

"Follow me" Daryl said quickly. "It's not too far. About 200 yards. Stick close, shut the hell up and be quiet." Daryl gave him a look, and the kid understood.

"Thank you again, thank-"

Daryl gave the kid another look. "What part of shut the hell up and be quiet did you not understand?"

The kid's face fell, and his eyes were apologetic. "I'm sorry, I just-"

Daryl whipped around and gave the kid yet another look, gesturing with his hands to "shut up". The kid nodded, and Daryl turned around slowly and annoyed.

It was darker than before. Much darker. And, now he knew there were walkers. Great. He tried to follow the same way he had come, and he was pretty sure he knew the way. But, everything started to look the same. He was going to really have to rely on his hunter's instinct. Good thing he was a great one.

It took them a few minutes to make it back to the edge of the forest; Daryl continued to look around them, turning at every whistle of the wind, or shake of a tree. He couldn't afford to assume it was just the wind. He had to be on constant lookout.

He looked back quickly to make sure the kid was still behind him, and he was. The little girl in his arms was still sleeping, and Daryl almost laughed at how ironic it was. He did smile a little for a second before focusing back on getting them to the base.

Daryl looked down to the woman in his arms and took in her face. She too was young, and only now, that she was sleeping, could Daryl tell how young she actually was. She wasn't filled with the worry, plagued by constant fear, overwhelmed with assuring she and her family were safe. Now, she could just sleep. And, she looked almost like a child doing so. Daryl guessed she wasn't more than twenty either.

Daryl made it to the edge of the forest, and pointed ahead at Herschel's farm.

"That's it." Daryl said, his voice gravely.

The kid nodded, but didn't say anything. Maybe he was afraid Daryl would snap at him again. Maybe he was just following orders to "shut the hell up". Maybe he just didn't know what to say. But he nodded.

Daryl looked behind him quickly, assured there were no walkers near them, and then turned back around. The two men walked across the field, still on guard, but not nearly as cautious as before. Out in the open, it would be much easier for them to notice walkers, opposed to never knowing when one was going to sneak up on them in the woods. Daryl looked ahead, saw the lights on in the farm house, and let out a sigh of relief.

Here it was. _Home._ Even it was just temporary. _But_, Daryl thought to himself, _what wasn't anymore?_

_**Please review! Let me know what you think and how you liked the characters! Thanks, please continue to read and review!**_


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